Chapter 83 is Asaf's prayer in the face of a conspiracy of nations rising against Israel to destroy them. In this part of the chapter, the Psalmist turns to the Holy One, Blessed be He, asking that He do to the enemies standing against us just as He did to Israel's enemies in past generations - to Midian, Sisera, and Yavin - and that ultimately the glory of His Name be revealed throughout the world. Let us go through the verses in order.
עֲשֵׂה־לָהֶם כְּמִדְיָן כְּסִיסְרָא כְיָבִין בְּנַחַל קִישׁוֹן׃ - Do to them as to Midian, as to Sisera, as to Yavin at the Kishon stream.
"Do to them as to Midian" - just as You did to Midian through Gideon. "As to Sisera, as to Yavin" - just as You did to Sisera and Yavin king of Chatzor at the Kishon stream, where the Holy One, Blessed be He, likewise threw their camps into turmoil. The Malbim emphasizes: with Midian as well, the downfall came about through turmoil, where they slaughtered one another, as explained in Shoftim (Judges 7:22). Therefore, the Psalmist asks here: just as their defeat there came by each man turning his sword against his fellow, so do to them now. Then we will not need to shed blood at all; rather, everyone will see how Hashem is the One Who fights for Israel - the war will be waged solely by Hashem, and we will not need to do anything at all.
נִשְׁמְדוּ בְעֵין־דֹּאר הָיוּ דֹּמֶן לָאֲדָמָה׃ - They were destroyed at Ein Dor; they became dung for the earth.
Note this: many mistakenly read it as "be-Ein Do'ar" because the word is written with an alef. But this is an error - the reading is "Ein Dor," with a silent alef that is not pronounced, just as in "ha-Re'uveni" where the alef is not sounded out. The indicator for this: there is no vowel point under the alef, and since there is no vowel under it, the alef is quiescent and unpronounced.
The Radak explains that this was said regarding Midian, even though this is not explicitly stated in Sefer Shoftim. Others say it refers to the war of Sisera, and since Ein Dor is not explicitly mentioned there, either explanation is plausible. Ein Dor was located in the portion of Menashe, alongside Ta'anach and Megiddo, and is mentioned in the Song of Devorah, which seemingly connects the matter to Sisera's war. "They became dung for the earth" - they were trampled underfoot like dung upon the ground; domen refers to refuse and manure, and they were trampled just as refuse is trampled. The Malbim explains that this refers to Yavin king of Canaan, who reigned in Chatzor and also ruled over Ein Dor, as cited in Yehoshua 11:2 and 11:10, and as it is written, "for they did not drive out [the inhabitants of] Ein Dor, and the Canaanite dwelt there" - and when they fled before Barak, they were destroyed there and became dung for the earth.
שִׁיתֵמוֹ נְדִיבֵימוֹ כְּעֹרֵב וְכִזְאֵב וּכְזֶבַח וּכְצַלְמֻנָּע כָּל־נְסִיכֵימוֹ׃ - Make them, their nobles, like Orev and Ze'ev, and like Zevach and Tzalmuna all their princes.
The Ibn Ezra explains that "Make them, their nobles" is an elegant poetic phrasing, similar to "and she saw him, the child" - first the pronoun and then the specification. That is: make them, their nobles. Orev and Ze'ev were ministers, while Zevach and Tzalmuna were princes. Therefore he prays: make their nobles and grandees like Orev and Ze'ev, and make their princes like Zevach and Tzalmuna. All four of these fell into our hands in battle; therefore, the prayer is that just as those rulers were delivered into our hands and we killed them, so too with those who come against us now - their nobles and their princes - may their end be like the end of Orev, Ze'ev, Zevach, and Tzalmuna.
אֲשֶׁר אָמְרוּ נִירְשָׁה לָּנוּ אֵת נְאוֹת אֱלֹהִים׃ - Who said, "Let us take possession of the dwelling places of God."
Rashi explains that "who said" refers back to the nations mentioned earlier - Edom, Yishmael, and all their allies - who are the ones now saying, "Let us take possession of the dwelling places of God." "Ne'ot Elohim" is like *neveh Elohim*, the abode of God, referring here to the Land of Israel.
Radak likewise explains that this refers to the Land of Israel, since it cannot refer to the Temple. However, in his view, these words refer back to the earlier adversaries - Yavin, Sisera, and Midian - who plotted to inherit God's dwelling places and fell by the hand of Gideon and Israel. Thus, according to Rashi, the verse speaks of those currently coming against us, while according to Radak, it refers to those ancient enemies. And according to Radak, "ne'ot Elohim" is not the Temple, for at that time the Temple did not yet exist, but rather the land of the Holy One, blessed be He - the Land of Israel. Therefore, the plea is: just as those enemies fell, so too "make them" - the kings and officers who are now coming to inherit God's dwellings - make them like a tumbleweed (*galgal*), as we will see immediately. This corresponds to the words of Yehoshaphat: "to come to drive us out from Your inheritance which You gave us to inherit" - this is "ne'ot Elohim," for these nations, too, are now coming to drive us out from what You have bequeathed to us.
אֱלֹהַי שִׁיתֵמוֹ כַגַּלְגַּל כְּקַשׁ לִפְנֵי־רוּחַ׃ - My God, make them like a tumbleweed, like chaff before the wind.
"Shitemo" - set them, make them. And what is the *galgal*? Rashi explains: "Like the tumbleweed and the chaff driven before the wind" - the tops of field thorns, called *cardons* in Old French, which, when winter arrives, detach on their own and drift little by little. That detached portion resembles the wheel (*galgal*) of a wagon, and the wind carries it along. When the thorns detach from their roots, they cluster together, and the wind begins to roll them, forming a kind of wheel. According to Rashi, and likewise according to Radak, both clauses of the verse describe the same phenomenon - the wheel-like mass formed from dried stalks rolling before the wind.
The Malbim, who rejects mere poetic repetition, explains that the *galgal* is one thing and the *kash* (chaff) is another: a wheel rolls by itself, whereas chaff is driven by the wind. And so it unfolded there: on the one hand, "every man's sword was against his fellow" - they rolled downward into ruin on their own; and on the other hand, they were wiped out before Yehoshaphat who pursued them - like chaff before the wind, where there is an active pursuer, and the wind is that pursuer. Yehoshaphat subsequently pursued them and struck them down.
כְּאֵשׁ תִּבְעַר־יָעַר וּכְלֶהָבָה תְּלַהֵט הָרִים׃ - As a fire that burns a forest, and as a flame that sets mountains ablaze.
Radak interprets this as "like a fire that burns *in* a forest," as though the prepositional letter *beit* is omitted. He also cites an alternative view that "tiv'ar" is a transitive verb, meaning no *beit* is missing at all: the fire consumes the forest. And what is the parable? Radak explains: when many trees stand together and ignite, the fire burns one tree, which in turn sets another on fire, and that one ignites yet another, until the entire forest is consumed. So shall it be with the enemies: a divine panic will overcome them, man against man, each man's sword against his fellow. And subsequently, "and as a flame that sets mountains ablaze" - regarding the trees and grasses upon the mountains, the wind blows upon them and the flame scorches them until all are consumed.
The Malbim explains similarly: "As a fire burns a forest" - one tree burns its neighbor, and so each man turned his sword against his brother, as it is written, "and the people shall be as fuel for the fire; no man shall spare his brother." "And as a flame that sets mountains ablaze" - this is the work of an external flame that scorches and burns, accomplished through the flame of God and through the army of Yehoshaphat, who pursued them and struck them down.
כֵּן תִּרְדְּפֵם בְּסַעֲרֶךָ וּבְסוּפָתְךָ תְבַהֲלֵם׃ - So pursue them with Your tempest, and terrify them with Your storm.
"So pursue them with Your tempest" - as is recounted regarding that battle, where Hashem set ambushes against the children of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir. The Malbim explains: a sa'ar (tempest) is a wind blowing in one direction, and therefore it pursues them so that they flee. A sufah (storm or whirlwind), by contrast, is a circular wind that surrounds from all sides. Such a storm drives them backward directly in their faces, and because it surrounds them from all directions, "it terrifies them." For when the wind comes from behind, it only pushes, but when it blows from every direction, it creates panic, because a whirlwind is greater than a tempest and envelops them from every side.
מַלֵּא פְנֵיהֶם קָלוֹן וִיבַקְשׁוּ שִׁמְךָ יְהֹוָה׃ - Fill their faces with shame, that they may seek Your Name, Hashem.
Because they said, "Let us take for ourselves the dwellings of God," it is fitting that anyone who speaks with such insolence against the Holy One, blessed be He, and the dwellings of God, should have his face filled with disgrace, shame, and ignominy. The Radak similarly writes: since they presumed to honor themselves through our degradation, measure for measure their faces will be filled with shame, and they will become humiliated and despised; in place of the honor they sought for themselves, they will reap disgrace.
The Radak cites in the name of his father that kalon (shame) is related to kalui ba'esh (roasted in fire), which fits beautifully with what was said earlier: "As a fire burns a forest and as a flame sets mountains ablaze" - fill their faces with scorching, meaning burning, as it is written, "whom the king of Babylon roasted in fire" (asher kalam). However, the plain meaning, followed by the rest of the commentators, is that kalon denotes shame and disgrace. And kalon is always rooted in kal (light or diminished): the opposite of an honored person (nichbad, weighty) is a degraded one (kal), as it says, "and those who despise Me will be degraded" (yekallu) - they will suffer kalon, which is the degradation that stands in contrast to honor.
"That they may seek Your Name, Hashem" - the Radak explains: then they will seek Your Name and acknowledge that there is none beside Him. Right now they think they have the power to overcome the Holy One, blessed be He, and that they possess powers and gods of their own; but when they see how their faces are filled with shame, they will seek Your Name, realizing that there is none beside You and that no man has the power to do anything unless Hashem wills it - and they will submit to Your kingship.
The Malbim explains that this describes the stage where Israel began to sing and praise Hashem, and the enemies were then filled with shame in the presence of Hashem's glory: they, who had sought to demean Him, now witness His honor, and this fills their faces with shame. And even though they may then seek His Name, "they will be ashamed and dismayed," because the Holy One, blessed be He, will no longer accept their repentance.
Why, indeed, will their repentance not avail them? We find the Rambam addressing this regarding Pharaoh. During the final five plagues, Pharaoh was already prepared to repent and send Israel away, but the Holy One, blessed be He, hardened and strengthened his heart and then struck him. The Rambam asks: where is the justice in hardening his heart and then punishing him? He answers that repentance is a special privilege, and there is a point at which one loses that right. Pharaoh was given five opportunities to repent, and not only did he fail to take advantage of them, but he continued to defy God. Hashem said to him: a stage will come when even if you want to repent, you will no longer be able to do so. "When I wanted it, you did not want it; now that you want it, I do not want it." The window of opportunity does not stay open forever.
So too here: at first they rise up to battle against Hashem, and then suddenly they come seeking to repent. The Holy One, blessed be He, says to them: it is too late. Now is the time when you receive your blow and your full punishment, and therefore, even though "they seek Your Name, Hashem - they will be ashamed and dismayed forever."
יֵבֹשׁוּ וְיִבָּהֲלוּ עֲדֵי־עַד וְיַחְפְּרוּ וְיֹאבֵדוּ׃ - Let them be shamed and dismayed forever; let them be disgraced and perish.
The Malbim explains the difference between yevoshu (shame) and yachperu (disgrace): chafar denotes a level of humiliation greater than boshet. Chafar is one who buries his face in hiding out of sheer mortification - like someone who wishes to dig a hole in the earth and bury his head in it. It reflects the familiar expression, "I wanted the ground to swallow me up at that moment," anything so as not to bear such unbearable shame. Therefore, the term veyachperu is more severe, for the phrasing in the verse progressively intensifies: first "let them be shamed and dismayed forever," then "let them be disgraced" - a humiliation far worse than shame, and ultimately "and perish" in complete ruin.
וְיֵדְעוּ כִּי־אַתָּה שִׁמְךָ יְהֹוָה לְבַדֶּךָ עֶלְיוֹן עַל־כָּל־הָאָרֶץ׃ - And let them know that You, Whose Name is Hashem, are alone Most High over all the earth.
You and Your Name alone, there is none besides You. And what is meant by "and Your Name"? The Radak explains that this is as stated in Zechariah 14:9: "On that day Hashem will be one and His Name one." Today, when we utter the Name of Hashem, we do not pronounce it as written with its letters, but rather pronounce it with the Name of Adnut (Lordship), unlike the Kohen Gadol in the Beit HaMikdash who would pronounce the Name according to its letters. Thus, today Hashem is one, but His Name is not yet one - it is written with the four-letter Name (Havayah) and read as Adnut. In the Future to Come, however, Hashem will be one and His Name one, for we will all pronounce the Name as it is written, just as the Kohen pronounced it in the Beit HaMikdash.
The Radak offers another explanation of "You and Your Name": that they will know in their hearts that there is no god besides Him, and that whatever they mention with their mouths will be Your Name alone and not the name of any idol. For today, people still mention all kinds of deities and attach themselves to other powers, but then Hashem will be one and His Name one - everyone will recognize the Name of the Creator, blessed be He.
"Most High over all the earth" - they will recognize that the Holy One, blessed be He, is supreme over the entire earth. The nations believed there was a supreme God, yet claimed that He is lofty and does not occupy Himself with what happens down here, having no concern for earthly matters; on the contrary, in their view, anyone who claims that He exercises providence here diminishes Him. But we say: No. Hashem is transcendent, yet know that He is "over all the earth." Hashem is high and exalted, yet He looks down upon the lowly; the Holy One, blessed be He, observes everything that happens to you here, and you can petition Him for even the most basic needs.
The Malbim notes a precise distinction: elyon ("high" or "upper") refers to something that is elevated relative to what is beneath it, but there may still be something higher above it. When an entity is described as elyon, it is not necessarily the highest of all. Similarly, the term acharon ("last" or "hindmost") does not necessarily mean that nothing follows it. The proof is from the verse: "And he put Leah and her children hindmost (acharonim), and Rachel and Joseph hindmost (acharonim)" - showing that there can be an acharon, followed by yet another acharon.
This provides an answer to the heretics who argued: It is written, "Greater shall be the glory of this latter Temple (haBayit hazeh ha'acharon) than the first," which was said regarding the Second Temple; if so, from where do you derive that there will be a Third Temple? To this we reply from the verse: there can be an acharon that is followed by another acharon. We find the same with Moshe Rabbeinu: "If they will not believe the message of the first sign, they will believe the message of the latter sign (ha'ot ha'acharon)," and if they still did not believe that "latter" sign, he was told to perform yet another sign! Thus, an acharon can be followed by another acharon. Homiletically, the Sages noted: that very subsequent sign was taking water from the Nile and pouring it onto dry land so it would turn to blood, regarding which it is said, "And the blood shall be a sign for you upon the houses (batim)" - hinting that an acharon followed by another acharon also alludes to the batim (the Temples), showing that there is a "latter" Temple followed by yet another Temple, the Third Temple.
Returning to our subject: since there can be an elyon, and one elyon above another, Scripture comes and states: "You, Whose Name is Hashem, are alone Most High" - You alone are the Supreme One above Whom there is none higher, for You are the Ultimate Cause of all causes and effects. And with all that, You are "over all the earth" - watching with Your providence over everything that takes place here on earth.
In this part of the chapter, the Psalmist asks that the Holy One, blessed be He, do to the enemies who rise against us just as He did to Midian, to Sisera, and to Jabin - a turmoil of each man's sword against his fellow, without us having to fight; that they become like Oreb and Zeeb, and like Zebah and Zalmunna, like tumbleweed rolling on its own and like chaff pursued before the wind, and like a fire blazing in a forest, consuming tree after tree. "Fill their faces with shame" - measure for measure for those who sought to be honored through our disgrace; and even if they seek His Name, they will no longer be accepted in repentance, for the window of opportunity does not remain open forever. Ultimately, everything is directed toward one single goal: "And they shall know that You, Whose Name is Hashem, You alone are the Most High over all the earth" - that all will recognize that He alone is the Supreme One above Whom there is no higher, and that with all His loftiness, He oversees and observes all that occurs on earth, and there is none besides Him.